List of edible seeds

A list of edible seeds here includes seeds that are directly foodstuffs, rather than yielding derived products.

A variety of species can provide edible seeds. Of the six major plant parts, seeds are the most important source of human food. The other five major plant parts are roots, stems, leaves, flowers, and fruits. Most edible seeds are angiosperms, but a few are gymnosperms. The most important seed food source is cereals, followed by legumes, and nuts.

The list is divided into the following categories:

* Beans (or Legumes) are protein-rich soft seeds.
* Cereals (or grains) are grass-like crops that are harvested for their dry seeds. These seeds are often ground to make flour. Cereals provide almost half of all calories consumed in the world.cite web
url=http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/DesktopDefault.aspx
title=ProdSTAT
author=FAO
work=FAOSTAT
accessdate=2006-12-26] Botanically, true cereals are members of the Poaceae or Grass family.
** Pseudocereals are cereal crops that are not members of the Poaceae or Grass Family.
* Nuts are botanically a specific type of fruit but the term is also applied to many edible seeds that are not botanically nuts.
** Gymnosperms produce nut-like seeds but not flowers or fruits.

Beans

See also:

Beans, also known as legumes or pulses include: [cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/WAICENT/faoinfo/economic/faodef/fdef04e.htm |title=Definition and Classification of Commodities|work=Definition and Classification of Commodities|title=Pulses and derived products|date=1994|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations|accessdate=2006-12-26]

* Bambara groundnut
* Chickpeas
* Cowpeas
* Dry beans, including
** Common bean
** several species of Vigna
* Fava or broad beans
* Hyacinth bean
* Lablab
* Lentils
* Lupins
* Peas
* Peanuts
* Pigeon peas
* Velvet beans
* Winged beans
* Yam beans
* Tonka beans
* Soybeans

Cereals

True cereals are the seeds of certain species of grass. Three — maize, wheat and rice — account for about half of the calories consumed by people every year.cite web
url=http://faostat.fao.org/site/567/DesktopDefault.aspx
title=ProdSTAT
author=FAO
work=FAOSTAT
accessdate=2006-12-26] Grains can be ground to make flour, used as the basis of bread, cake, noodles or other food products. They can also be boiled or steamed, either whole or ground, and eaten as is. Many cereals are present or past staple foods, provided a large fraction of the calories in the places that they are eaten. Cereals include:

* Barley
* Fonio
* Kamut
* Maize (corn)
* Pearl Millet
* Oats
* Palmer's grass
* Rice
* Rye
* Sorghum
* Spelt
* Teff
* Triticale
* Wheat
* Wild rice

Pseudocereals

* Breadnut
* Buckwheat
* Cattail
* Chia
* Cockscomb
* Grain amaranth
* Kañiwa
* Pitseed Goosefoot
* Quinoa
* Wattleseed (also called "acacia seed")

Nuts

"See also": List of edible nuts

According to the botanical definition, nuts are a particular kind of seed. [cite web
url=http://www.biology-online.org/dictionary/Nut
title=Nut
work=Biology Online Dictionary
date=October 3 2005
accessdate=2006-12-26] Walnuts and acorns are example of nuts, under this definition. In culinary terms, however, the term is used more broadly to include fruits that are not botanically qualified as nuts, but that have a similar appearance and culinary role. Examples of culinary nuts include almonds, peanuts and cashews. [cite web
url=http://www.answers.com/topic/nut
title=Nut
work=The Columbia Online Encyclopedia
date=2003
accessdate=2006-12-26] [cite web|url=http://www.fao.org/es/faodef/fdef05e.htm|title=Nuts and derived products|work=Definition and Classification of Commodities|date=1996|accessdate=2006-12-26|publisher=Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations]

* Almond
* Beech
* Brazil nut
* Candlenut
* Cashew
* Chestnuts, including:
** Chinese Chestnut
** Sweet Chestnut
* Colocynth
* "Cucurbita ficifolia"
* Filbert
* "Gevuina avellana"
* Hickory, including
** Pecan
** Shagbark Hickory
* Indian Beech or Pongam Tree
* Kola nut
* Macadamia
* Malabar chestnut
* Mamoncillo
* Maya nut
* Mongongo
* Oak acorns
* Ogbono nut
* Paradise nut
* Pili nut
* Walnut
* Water Caltrop

Nut-like gymnosperm seeds

* Cycads
* Ginkgo
* "Gnetum gnemon"
* Juniper
* Monkey-puzzle
* Pine nuts, including
** Chilgoza Pine
** Korean Pine
** Stone Pine
** Colorado Pinyon
** Mexican Pinyon
** Single-leaf Pinyon
* Podocarps

Miscellaneous

* Cempedak
* Egusi
* Euryale ferox (Fox nut)
* Fluted pumpkin
* Hemp seed
* Jackfruit
* Lotus seed
* Malabar gourd
* Pistachio
* Pumpkin seed
* Sunflower seed

References

* cite book
author=Bailey, L.H., Bailey, E.Z. and Bailey Hortorium Staff
date=1976
title=Hortus Third
publisher=New York: Macmillan
* cite book
author=Lewington, A.
date=1990
title=Plants for People
publisher=Cambridge, MA: Oxford University Press

See also

* Eastern Agricultural Complex
* List of vegetable oils
* List of seed-based snacks
* Nut (fruit)
* Pulse
* Seed